A positive mindset is the required minimum in elite tennis. “I believe I can beat anyone,” declared world No.194 Carson Branstine, ahead of her Grand Slam main draw debut against Aryna Sabalenka in the first round at Wimbledon 2025.

In the event, Branstine found – as many far more experienced players know to their cost – that if the big occasion nerves don’t shred your game against this quality of opposition, then Sabalenka’s fearsome power is very likely to do the trick.

Both factors played their part as the No.1 seed tore past in the first set, and while Branstine made a match of it in the second, Sabalenka wrapped it up 6-1, 7-5 in 73 minutes. It made for the happiest of contrasts to 12 months ago, when a right shoulder injury ruled her out of The Championships entirely.

“I’m super happy to be back healthy and competing at this beautiful tournament,” she smiled in victory. “I was really depressed last year that I couldn’t feel this atmosphere.

“In the first set she didn’t serve great, but in the second most of her serves were 120mph, which is crazy! I was lucky to break her in one game. Tough match, tough win. I’m grateful to be here and I feel I’m in a good place.”

Branstine garnered a lot of attention coming into this one. Earlier this month on the Dutch grass, she earned an excellent win over Liudmila Samsonova (seeded No.19 here). Then, in Wimbledon Qualifying, her scalps included Roland-Garros semi-finalist Lois Boisson, and US Open 2019 champion Bianca Andreescu.

Moreover, the Canadian’s “cool little side hustle” as a model, which helps fund the financial demands of tennis, had Sabalenka herself exclaiming over her opponent’s Instagram feed: “Oh my God… this girl is so beautiful!”

In fact Branstine’s early ambition was to become a lawyer – rather fitting, given that she has one of those marvellous names (much like Shelby Rogers) which sounds like a seriously influential law firm, with headquarters surely in the well-known Florida resort city of Madison Keys.

Meanwhile, under the burning sun of No.1 Court, early on Branstine’s nerves caused errors at the most straightforward of moments. In her opening service game, the 24-year-old handed over the break with a horrible fluff of the simplest possible volley. It’s the stuff few players can afford at the best of times, never mind against a three-time Grand Slam champion intent on adding the Venus Rosewater Dish to her trophy cabinet.

It was a serious achievement for Branstine to avoid the bagel in the first set, raising her arm in smiling relief when she got on the board at 1-5, much to the warm appreciation of the crowd. A hold to love at the start of the second was reassuring.

The California-born Canuck (her mother is Canadian) trimmed the errors to make Sabalenka work for it. When the world No.1 pushed a forehand wide at 1-1, it even created break point for Branstine, but she couldn’t convert a second serve opportunity. 

Branstine’s pre-match self-description of “big game, big serve and comfortable on the grass” began to look more accurate as the match progressed, and she retained her composure when a gorgeous Sabalenka lob threatened to pave the way to a break.

With nothing to lose, the Canadian’s confidence grew as she stayed in the set. But as the games mounted, so did the tension, and Sabalenka’s smarts took control as Branstine’s serve wavered. Nonetheless, it was a useful early workout for the world No.1, whose draw ahead looks testing here.

Later, Sabalenka described her bewilderment when Grigor Dimitrov messaged her recently about the new US Open mixed doubles event in August. “I'm like, 'What are you talking about? I didn't even know about it. Are you crazy? I'm not going to play mixed doubles!'

"Then he explained to me that it's the week before, a two-day event, basically. That sounded fun. I like playing doubles and mixed doubles, and played some exhibitions together with Grigor where the level was pretty good. So I was like, 'Yeah, let's do that!'”